I’m thankful that I get to be a part of capturing some of the most poignant, fabulous, enchanting, and heart-warming moments in people’s lives. Weddings are one of those series of moments wrapped up in a pretty package. I’m blessed to be a part of so many journey’s down the isle. Each one is unique and charged with emotion. One of those amazing weddings was recently featured in the February 2010 issue of Inside Columbia magazine. Ali Ratcliffe & Dan Bauer live in Chicago, IL and were married in Columbia, Missouri in August 2009. It was a romantic summer wedding sprinkled with southern charm. Check out the issue at: www.insidecolumbia.net

The walls have been painted, the furniture is in it’s place, and on the walls hang pieces of portrait art. The delicious sounds of Nina Simone and Alicia Keys play in the background while friends and family and customers and strangers mingle. The smell of delectable appetizers waft downstairs and onto the sidewalk while blueberries dance on lemonade filled glasses and wine soothes the senses. What a grand evening it was!

The long journey towards a studio space began in late November 2007 when my husband persuaded me to start looking around at available spaces throughout Columbia. What an amazing experience it has been, complete with it’s heartaches, lessons in patience, and finally…the right space. Situated on a busy corner in downtown Columbia the studio sits perched on the second floor of a historic building on 10th and Broadway. Having this new studio space better allows me to sit down with clients in a private, relaxing environment. I like to really get to know them and come up with ways to capture who they are. We end up with portraits that are great for sharing with family and friends but that also have a fine art quality, something your family will want to frame and cherish as heirlooms.

My downstairs neighbors are my good friends at Poppy and I’m rejuvenated daily by the sound of cars whizzing past, people window shopping below, and the still sweet memories of my Grand Opening.

I want to thank Kevin for pushing me closer and closer to my dream of a studio space, the greatest small group ever (Jack & Dana for their generous and totally amazing gift of wine, Goldie for spearheading the catering division and for all of her hard work, Natalie for writing a top notch press release and for creating such yummy masterpieces, Carissa for blowing everyone away with her amazing appetizers, my sister-in-law Jamie and Chris and Matt for being my photographers for the evening, and Nick for being the king of bruschetta), my brother Lance for running all over God’s green earth for ice and bags of blueberries, my mom for showing up early to help with the last minute cleaning and prep, and for all of my friends and family who came from Kansas City, Springfield, and beyond to help me celebrate. You are all reasons that I feel so loved. Thanks.

I’d like to also announce the winner of the FREE PORTRAIT SESSION!! Chelcie and Kody Kimzey have won the free studio portrait session. At the end of the night on Saturday the names were drawn. Congratulations to Chelcie and Kody! You can redeem your free studio portrait session anytime within the next 6 months. Thanks to all who participated.

These are some before and after images of the space along with some fun images from the Grand Opening. Enjoy!

Before and After in my Client Viewing Room.

Before and After in my Studio Shooting Room.

Before and After in the shared Lobby.

And here’s some fun images from the Grand Opening! Enjoy!

And just in case you weren’t able to join us for the Grand Opening…here’s some more images of the studio space. Come see it in person sometime!

This is the plant that my good friend Dawnyale sent me. Thanks D!

Come check out the studio sometime soon! I love coming to work!

-Lana

Lana

My assistant, Ashley Clarke shot this one. I love how she captured their great smiles!

See full page image on page 59 and the 2 images on the below spread on page 60.

The summer edition of Niche: The Magazine for Progressive Retailers features a few images that I took for Poppy, a local art boutique in downtown Columbia, Missouri. It was a really great article in a magazine targeting gallery owners and art & crafts boutiques across the nation. Click here to see the article online. Poppy is a fabulous shop that features whimsical, hand-made crafts of all kinds from hand-blown glass to ceramics to beautiful jewelry to baby gifts. It’s a one-stop shop for unique gifts and jewelry. Check it out! While you’re there, take a stroll through the baby section and you’ll find a few of my images on the walls. Newborn baby portraits and toddlers playing at the park, it’s one of my favorite stages to photograph. Don’t miss out on these important phases in your child’s life. Some of the more popular times to schedule a photo session for your little ones include: newborn (2-4 weeks), 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 2 year, etc.

Things have been pretty exciting around here lately! As you may have read in an earlier post, I was commissioned to photograph a head shot of the author and adventurer, Kira Salak. Check out her website for more information about her and her new novel The White Mary that was released this month. As well as being an author of several books, she is a writer and adventurer for National Geographic. It was such an honor and thrill to have one of my portraits of Kira featured in the August issue of National Geographic Adventurer. Check out the article.

It has been a dream of mine since I first began realizing my love for photography. From humble beginnings of shooting portraits of childhood friends with my 110mm camera to enrolling in every photography class I could get my hands on in high school to going with my dad to see a National Geographic photographer speak in Kansas City to growing up with an artist-mom…I feel like these things and more have all been gentle nudges toward my purpose in life and my professional career as a photographer.

As if the National Geographic Adventurer publication wasn’t enough, several weeks ago I was contacted by the photo editor of the Wall Street Journal who wanted to feature another one of the portraits of Kira next to a review of The White Mary book. It was featured in the weekend edition of the journal on July 26th & 27th. You can check out the article HERE. What an amazing feeling to have my work in such prominent journalistic forums. I feel so blessed!

William Kempis was born Tuesday July 15, 2008 at 11:17am weighing in at 8lbs 6oz and was 19 in. long. My brother Lance and sister-in-law Jamie and nephew Jackson Seth are all thrilled to have him here after much waiting.

Two weeks ago as I drove the 2 hours to St. Luke’s South in Overland Park, Kansas I was filled with anxiousness and a pounding heart full of thankfulness and wonder. What will this new little person be like as he develops now outside the womb…will his personality be similar to his older brother, Jack? What will he do when he grows up? What characteristic will he pull from his mom and which will he pull from his dad? All these questions circled my mind as I drove. I was overwhelmed with a thankfulness for my close-knit family and for all that God has blessed us with. We have been given so much!

I trekked through the hospital with my camera pack on my back, a baggy of freshly picked blueberries in my hand, a gift bag with a bottle of Adam Putcha wine from Hermann, MO, and a real longing to see my family. A few hours later, William had been delivered and we were all relieved to hear that mom and baby were okay. After many bets were placed, one of the 6 grandparents was the closest to guessing the actual weight of 8lbs. 6oz. Although, the anonymity of all participants with be protected, everyone had fun participating and the money was given to the new parents for diapers.

I know that being a proud aunt I’m sure to be a teensy bit partial to my nephews (and nieces)…but I had to include some images from the day. It never stops being less than a miracle. Life is such a beautiful gift. And William is such a wonderful gift to all of us.

This is the psalm Lance and Jamie have been praying over William…

“OH YES! You shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. We thank you, Oh High God- your breathtaking! Body and Soul, I am marvelously made! I worship you in adoration-What a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, and all the days of my life have been prepared by you Oh God before I’ve even lived one day!!!”
Psalm 139:13-17

Each name has an origin…or someone who held the name before. William Kempis is the namesake of these two great men.

“Let everyone regulate his conduct…by the golden rule of doing to others as in similar circumstances we would have them do to us, and the path of duty will be clear before him.”
William Wilberforce

“Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things lawful for itself, and all things possible.”
Thomas A’ Kempis

Since wisdom can be obtained by listening to wiser people than ourselves, I feel that it is vital to be lifetime learners. In an attempt to learn a few things from a veteran, award-winning photographer, I attended another evening-long conference in Kansas City last Wednesday night. The speaker was nationally known photographer, Sandy Puc’. I have seen her speak before at a past HOA conference in Kansas City but Wednesday night I, along with 400 other professional photographers from the region got an in depth look at her pregnancy portraiture and baby portrait process. It’s amazing to me how many photographers flocked to see her talk about how she runs her business; from the first phone call to the final order pick up. It gave me a glimpse that most everyone is looking for ways to be better at what we do.

Sandy Puc’ is the co-founder of an amazing organization called Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation, which I have been an affiliated photographer with for about a year now. It is an infant bereavement service where professional photographers all over the nation are called to donate their time and document precious lives that have been lost much too soon. “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives.”

I hope that I never stop learning and loving and giving…and letting that learning, loving, and giving spur on growth both personally and professionally.

-Lana

It’s not often that I get the pleasure and honor to photograph someone who is most special to me…my family. On Sunday afternoon I was thrilled to be able to photograph one of my cousins, Lori T. I couldn’t help let my mind drift back to much simpler times…ones where playing “house” and being choreographers to none other than Lee Greenwood’s God Bless America and going to swimming pool birthday parties and sleep overs were the hottest things on our agendas. Cousins are those people who we bond with as children and are lucky when those same relationships grow into mature friendships and bonds that will last a lifetime.

Now than she is a new mother of a beautiful baby girl Libby, she asked me to photograph Libby’s first portraits. What an honor! I love being a person that is included in people’s most sacred and momentous moments in life…but when it’s my own family, well that’s better yet. Thanks Lori and Libby for letting me be apart of your life.

This is my 3rd year attending the HOA conference and I’m excited to come back to Columbia, MO and my new studio with all the new ideas and refreshed perspective. It’s been a lot of fun this year to have my mom along for the journey to Council Bluffs, IA. We were welcomed to Council Bluffs with snow fall on Friday and Saturday.

I was also blessed by my visit with my good friend Dawnyale Jones (along with her husband Corey and little guy, Quincy). It has been a breath of fresh air for my heart and creative spirit.

Today mom and I went to the downtown Omaha area called the Old Market. It had a quaint feeling in a big city environment. Store after store that we couldn’t pass up – at least to pop in for a bit. Lunch at a Stokes where I had a really good chicken taco while mom suffered from the devastating result of unseasoned fish tacos.

With one more day left, we are heading to the awards banquet and ceremony. And hopefully no more bland fish tacos…

Recently I was commissioned to photograph a portrait of an author for her upcoming novel The White Mary (due to be released summer ‘08). The author, Kira Salak opened her door and welcomed me into her world for a few hours of time. Within that time I sensed a depth that is uncommon. She is a creative, quiet, and kind spirit who is living her dream. As a writer/adventurer who does freelance work for National Geographic, she has accomplished many amazing things in her life like being “the first documented person to kayak solo 600 miles (966 kilometers) down West Africa’s Niger River. She was also the first woman to traverse Papua New Guinea. And a 700-mile (1,127-kilometer) cycling trip carried her across Alaska to the Arctic Ocean” (excerpt taken from National Geographic online). After reading more about her, I am amazed at her accomplishments, writings, and solo travels as a women and artist alike. It is both refreshing and sobering to realize how fearless she has been in the face of challenges and goals along her journey and in contrast how many times I’ve been stopped dead in my tracks for fear of failure and just plain old fear itself.

Her photo session consisted of in-home studio portraiture as well as on-site natural light portraiture. The weather in Missouri is often unpredictable and that day was no different. We shot some studio portraiture in her home in hopes that the snow would slow or stop so that we could capture some portraits of her in her natural environment. She lead me down a long wooded path to a small stream and slightly crooked bridge surrounded with the beautifully bare trees of winter and the fresh smell of a spring rain. What a perfect place to capture who Kira is…thoughtful, adventurous, creative. At times like that, I feel like my camera and I are one. One thought. One body creating one beautiful portrait of an amazingly talented and interesting woman like Kira Salak.

Another exciting change coming in early to mid-February will be a new look on the website. You’ve seen the same basic look of Art & Soul Photography for about 3 years now – it is time for a change. Over the last few years my photography has evolved and grown both in style and subject range from fine art photography to photojournalistic coverage to studio portraiture. My first love, fine art photography is still very foundational and peeks through at surprising moments. The creative process is so fascinating and I can’t wait to see where it takes me this coming year.

Keep watching for more updates on the website and studio space.